LIVERPOOL Council last night called on the Government to return the Elgin Marbles to Athens.

LIVERPOOL Council last night called on the Government to return the Elgin Marbles to Athens.

Politicians voted over-whelmingly in support of a motion to repatriate the historic art works to their homeland in return for Greece sharing some of its priceless treasures for display in Liverpool.

Council leader Mike Storey and Cllr Keith Turner have asked colleagues to write to National Museums Liverpool in support of Marbles Reunited, a group who want the British Museum to return the partial collection of stones to Athens.

Cllr Storey said: "The loaning arrangement seems an imaginative way of dealing with a long-standing controversial problem.

"Liverpool and Glasgow have both been named specifically by the Greek government as possible regions for artefacts from Greece to be displayed because of their Capital of Culture connections.

"This gets out of all the legal argument about ownership and could set up a partnership between two museums and two countries."

Cllr Keith Turner added: "We want Liverpool to be at the forefront of this campaign so, in the run-up to 2008, we can have interesting displays from Greece."

The support has been welcomed by the Marbles Reunited campaign who are adamant that the statues should be returned to their home in Athens.

Spokesman for the campaign, Freddie New, said: "This is enormously encouraging. We want to involve local authorities in our campaign and as the first to do this, Liverpool Council is pioneering.

"Larger regional museums like those on Merseyside have nothing to lose and everything to gain with Greek artefacts promised on loan in exchange for the long-term loan of the marbles to Athens."

National Museums Liverpool are distancing themselves from the row.

Director David Fleming said: "The debate about the Parthenon Marbles is entirely a matter for the British Museum and its Trustees, and NML cannot be drawn into the debate."

The Greek embassy in the UK declined to comment on the negotiations but their website says that "there could be rotating exhibitions of ancient Greek art in London and the British museum, with a whole range of possible exchanges and cultural and study programmes for children, students and researchers."

It adds that "the reunification of the Parthenon Marbles is first and foremost a moral issue, and the historical and legal concerns should be left aside."

The British Museum declined to comment.

Treasures' return may set a precedent>>>>

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Treasures' return may set a precedent>

THERE is a fear that returning the marbles to Greece will set a precedent for returning other artefacts and artworks to their countries of origin.

But Marbles Reunited spokesman Freddie New said: "The former Museums and Galleries Commission, now known as Resource, issued guidelines on good practice and they stated that repatriating artefacts should be considered on a case-by-case basis.

"There is no evidence that there is an increase in claims for items to be repatriated because of this publicity, so there is no reason to think that if they were returned it would open the floodgates for other artifacts to be requested by their countries of origin."

Lord Elgin, whose great-great-greatgrandfather originally brought the artworks out of Athens, has dismissed the move as politically motivated.

The 79-year-old said: "I don't know why councils are supporting this campaign but I can only think it is for political reasons.

"There's a general election in Greece at the moment so that is probably another reason why foreign politicians are trying to get the marbles back to Athens before the Olympics this year."